A rural investment fund formed last year through a U.S. Department of Agriculture program announced its first investment with an equity stake in an Iowa-based poultry producer, Iowa Cage-Free LLLP in Goldfield.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and a bipartisan group of state attorneys general on Thursday joined the Federal Trade Commission's administrative complaint challenging a proposed merger between food distribution giants Sysco Corp. and US Foods Inc.

A nonprofit group two years in the making, Sustainable Iowa Land Trust, will attempt to make it easier for young farmers to arrange for land to grow, for example, fruits and nuts, or raise livestock, using sustainable methods.